The present invention relates generally to the field of gauge and tank sampler devices, and more particularly, is directed to a combination water level and liquid coring gauge.
In the field of liquid storage tanks, for example, flammable liquid storage tanks, numerous types of immersible samplers have been developed by prior workers in the art to determine information relating to interior tank conditions, such as the level of the liquid tank contents and the possible presence of contaminants, such as water within the tank. The previously available samplers also permit samples of the stored fluid to be taken from the tank for various testing purposes. Exemplary of such prior art devices are the samplers disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,577,629, 3,169,322, and 1,606,104. Some of the prior art liquid level gauge and samplers were limited in scope and were capable of functioning only at the bottom of the tank. Others were deficient in that they were relatively short in length and accordingly, were effective in sampling or gauging only a limited strata of the tank contents. Some of the previously available prior art devices were not capable of giving easy, quick visual indications of the interior tank conditions.
The water level and liquid coring gauge of the present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the earlier designs and further is designed to speed tank quantity measuring operations by providing a visual sample in immediate juxtaposition to the gauge calibrations of a dipstick. By incorporating the ability to take liquid level samples, rather than simply employing the dipstick to determine the level of the wetted area, increased efficiency and speed are achieved inasmuch as the operator need no longer wait for the liquid of one tank to evaporate from the dipstick before testing the additional tanks in a series of tanks.